News: Africa
» 2007
July 4, 2008
Judge orders Google to give YouTube user data to Viacom
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - A US judge has ordered Google to expose to Viacom the video-viewing habits of everyone who has ever used YouTube in a decision condemned by the Internet giant and privacy advocates.
Read AFP news story at google.com
Comment: The ruling, which could have serious privacy implications for internet users worldwide, orders Google to turn over every record of every video watched by YouTube users, including users' names and IP addresses.
June 20, 2008
Nigerian court says victims can be party in Pfizer case
ABUJA (AFP) - A Nigerian court on Friday granted the request of victims of an alleged 1996 Pfizer drug trial in the northern city of Kano, to be joined as party in the controversial lawsuit. "The applicant has sufficient interest in the suit to warrant this court to join them as additional respondent in the case," Abuja Anwuri Chikere, presiding judge of the federal high court, said. "The applicant's presence in the suit is important for effective and effectual determination of the case. The application for joinder is therefore granted," she added. Friday's ruling followed an application by the lawyer representing the victims of the alleged illegal drug trial which led allegedly to the deaths of about 11 children, while almost 200 others were reportedly left with some degree of disability or deformity.
Read AFP news report at yahoo.com
June 5, 2008
Zimbabwe's currency crashes, prices rocket
Zimbabwe's currency plunged to a new record low on Thursday, trading at an average 1 billion to the U.S. dollar on a recently introduced interbank market and triggering massive price increases. Traders were quoting the Zimbabwean dollar <ZWD=> at between 995 million and 1.45 billion against the greenback in Thursday morning trade, up from an average 700 million at the beginning of the week.
Read article at reuters.com
Comment: A loaf of bread now costs about Z$600 million in Zimbabwe whilst a two-litre bottle of cooking oil costs about Z$5 billion – the latter being almost equal to an average low-income worker's monthly wage. Official figures put Zimbabwe's annual inflation - the highest in the world - at 165,000 percent in February, but analysts say the figure vaulted as high as 1.8 million percent by May.
May 19, 2008
Democracy and the Web
Users of the Internet take for granted their ability to access all Web sites on an equal basis. That could change, however, if Internet service providers started discriminating among content, to make more money or to suppress ideas they do not like. A new "net neutrality" bill has been introduced in the House, which would prohibit this sort of content discrimination. Congress has delayed on this important issue too long and should pass net neutrality legislation now.
Read editorial in the New York Times (USA)
Comment: To learn more about the need for net neutrality and internet freedom, click here.
May 14, 2008
NAFDAC bans 30 agrochemical products
THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has banned the sale and supply of 30 different agrochemical products in the country. NAFDAC Director-General, Professor Dora Akunyili, explained in Abuja that the ban became necessary when it was discovered that the pesticides were causing food poisoning that had resulted in the death of many after they consumed food crops preserved with the chemicals.
Read article in the Vanguard newspaper (Nigeria)
May 7, 2008
Zimbabwe parties challenge parliamentary results
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition MDC have contested half the results of the March 29 parliamentary election, state media said on Wednesday, extending a stalemate that has triggered widespread violence. Official results showed ZANU-PF lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since independence in 1980, while the Movement for Democratic Change and a breakaway faction together secured enough seats to control the assembly.
Read article at reuters.com
April 28, 2008
Pfizer seeks settlement over drugs trial: Nigerian official
KANO, Nigeria (AFP) - US pharmaceuticals company Pfizer Inc. and the Nigerian state of Kano resumed talks aimed at reaching an out-of-court settlement over an alleged illegal drugs trial, an official said Monday. The alleged illegal clinical trial was carried out in 1996 and left 11 children dead and some 180 others with a deformity or handicap. Kano state justice commissioner Aliyu Umar said state government officials met Pfizer representatives last month in the federal capital Abuja, where the drug company made a financial offer which Kano rejected as inadequate.
Read AFP news report at google.com
March 11, 2008
Nigeria Vows To Summon Pfizer’s Bill Steere
The complex litigation over the controversial Trovan clinical trials in Nigeria is proceeding at a snail’s pace, but the federal government isn’t backing down from its promise to pursue criminal charges against several former and current Pfizer personnel. And topping the list is Bill Steere, the former ceo who still sits on the board who, any day now, may receive a summons to appear in Nigeria.
Read article at pharmalot.com
March 6, 2008
Zimbabwe currency at 25m to $1
The Zimbabwean dollar has plumbed new depths, tumbling in value to 25 million to $1. With inflation now topping 100,000 per cent, Zimbabweans would need to exchange about three stone in weight of their own currency to secure just one $100 note. It also means that the numbers of notes required in shops are heavier than the basic groceries that they buy.
Read article in the Daily Telegraph (UK)
February 29, 2008
Zuma cheated taxman, says State
NC President Jacob Zuma should not be allowed to quash "important" evidence implicating him in corruption, racketeering and multimillion-rand tax fraud, the state says. The National Prosecuting Authority argues that one reason why he should not be allowed to do so are the "links" it says the disputed evidence shows between Zuma's former financial adviser and convicted fraudster, Schabir Shaik, and "political office-bearers".
Read article on the Independent Online website (South Africa)
February 23, 2008
Manto speaks out about traditional medicine
African traditional medicines should not become "bogged down in clinical trials" when being subjected to research and development, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday. Addressing members of the presidential task team on African traditional medicine, Tshabalala-Msimang said: "We cannot use western models of protocols for research and development. We should guard against being bogged down with clinical trials."
Read article on the Independent Online website (South Africa)
February 18, 2008
Greening Ethiopia for Food Security & End to Poverty
A remarkable project reversing the ecological and social damages of the past 100 years that have locked the country in poverty. The world's largest single study of its kind now shows that composting increases yields two to three-fold and outperforms chemical fertilizers by more than 30 percent.
Read press release on the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) website (UK)
February 11, 2008
How the spooks took over the news
In his controversial new book, Nick Davies argues that shadowy intelligence agencies are pumping out black propaganda to manipulate public opinion – and that the media simply swallow it wholesale.
Read article in the Independent (UK)
February 7, 2008
Manto still talking to traditional healers
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala Msimang today vowed to continue engaging traditional healers on health issues, saying they were important partners in the fight against HIV and Aids. "Some people might be resisting traditional healers but I believe we are on the right track," she said. Speaking during a meeting in Cape Town between the Health Department and traditional leaders on initiations and circumcision, Tshabalala-Msimang said no amount of pressure would discourage her from engaging with traditional leaders on crucial issues such as HIV and Aids. "We will not be pushed around for the sake of money and resources," she said.
Read article in The Times (South Africa)
February 5, 2008
Nigeria: Pfizer - Kano Applies for Arrest of 3 American Suspects
Kano State government has requested that three Americans, namely, Dr. Scott Hopkins, Dr. Deborah Williams, and Michel Dunne, be extradited and tried as they were suspected to be directly responsible as research field officers for the trial of the drug Trovan. This was revealed to the court yesterday by the Kano State director of public prosecution (DPP), Sulaiman Bala Na-Malam.
Read article at allafrica.com
February 4, 2008
Pfizer employees in court over 1996 drug trial
Three employees of US drug giant Pfizer appeared in court Monday facing criminal charges filed by the Kano state government over an allegedly illegal 1996 meningitis drug trial. The judge adjourned the case until March 4 when Pfizer's challenge to the court's legal jurisdiction will be heard. Pfizer employees Bashir Bello, Segun Dogunro and Lere Baale stood in the witness box for the first time since civil and criminal proceedings were launched against the drug firm and eight of its staff eight months ago. The accused face 65-charge counts of criminal conspiracy, causing grievous harm and culpable homicide.
Read AFP news report at google.com
January 29, 2008
Nigeria: Parents of Pfizer Drug Victims Protest
Parents of victims of the alleged Kano Pfizer drug trial in 1996 staged another peaceful demonstration, carrying placards outside the premises of Kano High Court. They asked the Federal Government to ban Pfizer products in Nigeria until it pays compensation and apologizes to Nigeria for using innocent children as guinea pigs. The presiding judge at the civil case filed against Pfizer by Kano State government, Justice Sunusi Ciroma, listening to the arguments by the counsels of both parties, adjourned the case till 3rd of March, saying the court will deliberate on whether it has the jurisdiction to entertain the case or not on that date.
Read article at allafrica.com
January 15, 2008
Zimbabwe: Zinatha Seeks Assistance in Traditional Medicine Researches
GOVERNMENT should help traditional healers to conduct research on traditional medicines and herbs that can be used to treat ailments related to HIV and Aids, the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association has said.
Read article at allafrica.com
January 6, 2008
Africa's Hope for Unity Lies in Information Technology
Ghana, formerly Gold Coast, was in 1957 the first African nation to attain independence from Britain. That was 51 years ago, and Ghana's charismatic leader Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the visionary leader that he was, spoke about the urgent need to liberate and unite the whole continent of Africa for the empowerment of its people. In July 2007, half a century after Ghana's independence, leaders of 53 independent African states convened in a summit in the Ghanaian capital of Accra to revive the Nkrumah dream of forming "the United States of Africa." The meeting ended without a clear roadmap for establishing such unity.
Read article at mshale.com